Audio Notifications

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for a playback device outputting an audio alert from a network-enabled device include (i) while the playback device is playing back audio content, receiving an alert communication from the network-enabled device, the alert communication including (a) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (b) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification; (ii) responsive to receiving the alert communication, adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, where the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue; (iii) adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification; and (iv) the playback device playing back the audio notification.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/148,879 filed on Oct. 1, 2018, entitled “Audio Notifications,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/148,879 claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. provisional App. No. 62/723,942 filed on Aug. 28, 2018, entitled “Playback Device Control,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, to methods, systems, products, features, services, and other elements directed to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loud setting were limited until in 2002, when SONOS, Inc. began development of a new type of playback system. Sonos then filed one of its first patent applications in 2003, entitled “Method for Synchronizing Audio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering its first media playback systems for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless Home Sound System enables people to experience music from many sources via one or more networked playback devices. Through a software control application installed on a controller (e.g., smartphone, tablet, computer, voice input device), one can play what she wants in any room having a networked playback device. Media content (e.g., songs, podcasts, video sound) can be streamed to playback devices such that each room with a playback device can play back corresponding different media content. In addition, rooms can be grouped together for synchronous playback of the same media content, and/or the same media content can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology may be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, as listed below. A person skilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown in the drawings are for purposes of illustrations, and variations, including different and/or additional features and arrangements thereof, are possible.

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of an environment having a media playback system configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system of FIG. 1A and one or more networks.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of a control device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a playback environment within which a playback device may output audio alerts from network-enabled devices.

FIG. 3A is an example alert communication from a network-enabled device to a playback device.

FIG. 3B is an example alert response communication from a playback device to a network-enabled device.

FIG. 4A is a simplified diagram of a queue of alert notifications for playback by a playback device.

FIG. 4B is a simplified diagram of a queue of alert notifications for playback by a playback device.

FIG. 4C is a simplified diagram of a queue of alert notifications for playback by a playback device.

FIG. 4D is a simplified diagram of a queue of alert notifications for playback by a playback device.

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram of a control device displaying a notification that a playback device is outputting an alert notification.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for a playback device outputting alert notifications from network-enabled devices.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the technology disclosed herein is not limited to the arrangements and/or instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

“Smart devices” (also referred to as “IoT devices” and referred to herein as “network-enabled devices”) are becoming more prevalent, such that it is common for an individual to interact with numerous smart devices throughout the course of an ordinary day, and many households include multiple smart devices, often from different manufacturers or providers. For instance, a household may include one or more of a smart doorbell (such as those provided by Nest® or Ring®), a smart thermostat (such as those provided by (Nest® or Ecobee®), a smart vacuum (such as those provided by iRobot® or Neato®), or smart appliances (such as those provided by GE® or Whirlpool®), to name a few examples.

Smart devices may provide convenience by automating various tasks and by allowing a user to remotely control or otherwise interact with the smart devices. For instance, smart devices may generate alerts upon detecting various events in order to notify the user that the detected events have occurred. For instance, a smart doorbell may generate an alert responsive to detecting the presence of an individual at the door, a smart thermostat may generate an alert responsive to determining that a room has reached a threshold high or low temperature or responsive to activating or deactivating an HVAC system, and a smart vacuum may generate an alert responsive to starting or finishing a cleaning cycle.

When a smart device generates an alert, the smart device may notify the user of the generated alert via the user's mobile device. For instance, the smart device may cause the user's mobile device to output an audio and/or visual notification of the generated alert.

In some circumstances, the user might prefer to receive the notification of the generated alert via a playback device. For instance, the user might prefer certain notifications, such as a doorbell ringing or a fire alarm, to be heard or otherwise observed by people other than the user and/or in different rooms from the user. These notifications may be more suited for output via one or more playback devices, as output from the playback devices may be more effectively received by multiple people in different rooms than a notification provided by the user's mobile device.

Further, in some circumstances, the user might not receive the notification of the generated alert via the mobile device. For instance, the user may have powered off or silenced the mobile device, or the mobile device may have powered itself off responsive to low battery power. As another example, the user might not be paying attention or may be otherwise distracted from the mobile device. For instance, the user might be using a television or playback device to watch television or listen to music, and the audio output from the playback device may drown out or otherwise distract the user from the alert notifications output by the mobile device.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods to help address these or other issues. In particular, the present disclosure provides example systems and methods that involve a playback device outputting audio notifications corresponding to smart device alerts. However, as noted above, a user may have smart devices from multiple different manufacturers and/or vendors which may also differ from the manufacturer and/or vendor of the playback device. As such, to facilitate the playback device communicating with various smart devices, the playback device can be configured with an application programming interface (API) through which the smart devices can communicate with the playback device.

Using the playback device API, the playback device can receive alert communications from the smart devices. An alert communication may specify various characteristics of an alert, such as by identifying a particular audio notification that is to be played back by the playback device, as well as by identifying a priority level of the alert.

In some examples, the playback device may handle alert communications differently based on their identified priority level. For instance, when the playback device receives an alert communication, the playback device may add the audio notification identified by the alert communication to a queue of notifications for playback, and the playback device may add higher priority notifications ahead of lower priority notifications in the queue. Other examples of how the playback device treats alert communications differently based on their identified priority level are described in further detail below.

After receiving an alert communication from a smart device, the playback device can then play back the audio notification identified by the alert communication. If the playback device is outputting other audio content, such as music or television audio, then the playback device may stop playing back the other audio content or duck the other audio content in order to facilitate playing back the audio notification. Using the playback device to play back the audio notification corresponding to the smart device alert, instead of or in addition to displaying an alert notification on the user's mobile device, may increase the likelihood that the user will be notified of the alert and may result in an improved user experience.

Accordingly, in some implementations, for example, a playback device includes a network interface, an audio stage comprising an amplifier, one or more speaker drivers, one or more processors, and a housing carrying at least the network interface, the audio stage, the one or more speaker drivers, the one or more processors, and tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the playback device to perform various operations. The operations include, while playing back audio content via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers, receiving, via the network interface, an alert communication from a smart device connected to the playback device via a local area network, the alert communication comprising (i) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (ii) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification. The operations further include, responsive to receiving the alert communication, adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, wherein the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue. Additionally, the operations include adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification, and playing back the audio notification via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed by given actors such as “users,” “listeners,” and/or other entities, it should be understood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claims should not be interpreted to require action by any such example actor unless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves.

Moreover, some functions are described herein as being performed “based on” or “in response to” (or “responsive to”) another element or function. “Based on” should be understood that one element or function is related to another function or element. “In response to” should be understood that one element or function is a necessary result of another function or element. For the sake of brevity, functions are generally described as being based on another function when a functional link exists; however, disclosure of either type of relationship should be understood as disclosing both types of functional relationship. In the claims, the functional relationship should be interpreted as recited.

In the Figures, identical reference numbers identify generally similar, and/or identical, elements. To facilitate the discussion of any particular element, the most significant digit or digits of a reference number refers to the Figure in which that element is first introduced. For example, element 110 a is first introduced and discussed with reference to FIG. 1A. Many of the details, dimensions, angles and other features shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particular embodiments of the disclosed technology. Accordingly, other embodiments can have other details, dimensions, angles and features without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments of the various disclosed technologies can be practiced without several of the details described below.

II. Suitable Operating Environment

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of a media playback system 100 distributed in an environment 101 (e.g., a house). The media playback system 100 comprises one or more playback devices 110 (identified individually as playback devices 110 a-n), one or more network microphone devices (“NMDs”) 120 (identified individually as NMDs 120 a-c), and one or more control devices 130 (identified individually as control devices 130 a and 130 b).

As used herein the term “playback device” can generally refer to a network device configured to receive, process, and output data of a media playback system. For example, a playback device can be a network device that receives and processes audio content. In some embodiments, a playback device includes one or more transducers or speakers powered by one or more amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, a playback device includes one of (or neither of) the speaker and the amplifier. For instance, a playback device can comprise one or more amplifiers configured to drive one or more speakers external to the playback device via a corresponding wire or cable.

Moreover, as used herein the term NMD (i.e., a “network microphone device”) can generally refer to a network device that is configured for audio detection. In some embodiments, an NMD is a stand-alone device configured primarily for audio detection. In other embodiments, an NMD is incorporated into a playback device (or vice versa).

The term “control device” can generally refer to a network device configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and/or configuration of the media playback system 100.

Each of the playback devices 110 is configured to receive audio signals or data from one or more media sources (e.g., one or more remote servers, one or more local devices) and play back the received audio signals or data as sound. The one or more NMDs 120 are configured to receive spoken word commands, and the one or more control devices 130 are configured to receive user input. In response to the received spoken word commands and/or user input, the media playback system 100 can play back audio via one or more of the playback devices 110. In certain embodiments, the playback devices 110 are configured to commence playback of media content in response to a trigger. For instance, one or more of the playback devices 110 can be configured to play back a morning playlist upon detection of an associated trigger condition (e.g., presence of a user in a kitchen, detection of a coffee machine operation). In some embodiments, for example, the media playback system 100 is configured to play back audio from a first playback device (e.g., the playback device 100 a) in synchrony with a second playback device (e.g., the playback device 100 b). Interactions between the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130 of the media playback system 100 configured in accordance with the various embodiments of the disclosure are described in greater detail below with respect to FIGS. 1B-1H.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A, the environment 101 comprises a household having several rooms, spaces, and/or playback zones, including (clockwise from upper left) a master bathroom 101 a, a master bedroom 101 b, a second bedroom 101 c, a family room or den 101 d, an office 101 e, a living room 101 f, a dining room 101 g, a kitchen 101 h, and an outdoor patio 101 i. While certain embodiments and examples are described below in the context of a home environment, the technologies described herein may be implemented in other types of environments. In some embodiments, for example, the media playback system 100 can be implemented in one or more commercial settings (e.g., a restaurant, mall, airport, hotel, a retail or other store), one or more vehicles (e.g., a sports utility vehicle, bus, car, a ship, a boat, an airplane), multiple environments (e.g., a combination of home and vehicle environments), and/or another suitable environment where multi-zone audio may be desirable.

The media playback system 100 can comprise one or more playback zones, some of which may correspond to the rooms in the environment 101. The media playback system 100 can be established with one or more playback zones, after which additional zones may be added, or removed to form, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 1A. Each zone may be given a name according to a different room or space such as the office 101 e, master bathroom 101 a, master bedroom 101 b, the second bedroom 101 c, kitchen 101 h, dining room 101 g, living room 101 f, and/or the outdoor patio 101 i. In some aspects, a single playback zone may include multiple rooms or spaces. In certain aspects, a single room or space may include multiple playback zones.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1A, the master bathroom 101 a, the second bedroom 101 c, the office 101 e, the living room 101 f, the dining room 101 g, the kitchen 101 h, and the outdoor patio 101 i each include one playback device 110, and the master bedroom 101 b and the den 101 d include a plurality of playback devices 110. In the master bedroom 101 b, the playback devices 110 l and 110 m may be configured, for example, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual ones of playback devices 110, as a bonded playback zone, as a consolidated playback device, and/or any combination thereof. Similarly, in the den 101 d, the playback devices 110 h-j can be configured, for instance, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual ones of playback devices 110, as one or more bonded playback devices, and/or as one or more consolidated playback devices. Additional details regarding bonded and consolidated playback devices are described below with respect to FIGS. 1B and 1E.

In some aspects, one or more of the playback zones in the environment 101 may each be playing different audio content. For instance, a user may be grilling on the patio 101 and listening to hip hop music being played by the playback device 110 c while another user is preparing food in the kitchen 101 h and listening to classical music played by the playback device 110 b. In another example, a playback zone may play the same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. For instance, the user may be in the office 101 e listening to the playback device 110 f playing back the same hip hop music being played back by playback device 110 c on the patio 101 i. In some aspects, the playback devices 110 c and 110 f play back the hip hop music in synchrony such that the user perceives that the audio content is being played seamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) while moving between different playback zones. Additional details regarding audio playback synchronization among playback devices and/or zones can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

a. Suitable Media Playback System

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system 100 and a cloud network 102. For ease of illustration, certain devices of the media playback system 100 and the cloud network 102 are omitted from FIG. 1B. One or more communication links 103 (referred to hereinafter as “the links 103”) communicatively couple the media playback system 100 and the cloud network 102.

The links 103 can comprise, for example, one or more wired networks, one or more wireless networks, one or more wide area networks (WAN), one or more local area networks (LAN), one or more personal area networks (PAN), one or more telecommunication networks (e.g., one or more Global System for Mobiles (GSM) networks, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, 5G communication network networks, and/or other suitable data transmission protocol networks), etc. The cloud network 102 is configured to deliver media content (e.g., audio content, video content, photographs, social media content) to the media playback system 100 in response to a request transmitted from the media playback system 100 via the links 103. In some embodiments, the cloud network 102 is further configured to receive data (e.g. voice input data) from the media playback system 100 and correspondingly transmit commands and/or media content to the media playback system 100.

The cloud network 102 comprises computing devices 106 (identified separately as a first computing device 106 a, a second computing device 106 b, and a third computing device 106 c). The computing devices 106 can comprise individual computers or servers, such as, for example, a media streaming service server storing audio and/or other media content, a voice service server, a social media server, a media playback system control server, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the computing devices 106 comprise modules of a single computer or server. In certain embodiments, one or more of the computing devices 106 comprise one or more modules, computers, and/or servers. Moreover, while the cloud network 102 is described above in the context of a single cloud network, in some embodiments the cloud network 102 comprises a plurality of cloud networks comprising communicatively coupled computing devices. Furthermore, while the cloud network 102 is shown in FIG. 1B as having three of the computing devices 106, in some embodiments, the cloud network 102 comprises fewer (or more than) three computing devices 106.

The media playback system 100 is configured to receive media content from the networks 102 via the links 103. The received media content can comprise, for example, a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and/or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For instance, in some examples, the media playback system 100 can stream, download, or otherwise obtain data from a URI or a URL corresponding to the received media content. A network 104 communicatively couples the links 103 and at least a portion of the devices (e.g., one or more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130) of the media playback system 100. The network 104 can include, for example, a wireless network (e.g., a WiFi network, a Bluetooth, a Z-Wave network, a ZigBee, and/or other suitable wireless communication protocol network) and/or a wired network (e.g., a network comprising Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or another suitable wired communication). As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, as used herein, “WiFi” can refer to several different communication protocols including, for example, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj, 802.11aq, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.15, etc. transmitted at 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz), 5 GHz, and/or another suitable frequency.

In some embodiments, the network 104 comprises a dedicated communication network that the media playback system 100 uses to transmit messages between individual devices and/or to transmit media content to and from media content sources (e.g., one or more of the computing devices 106). In certain embodiments, the network 104 is configured to be accessible only to devices in the media playback system 100, thereby reducing interference and competition with other household devices. In other embodiments, however, the network 104 comprises an existing household communication network (e.g., a household WiFi network). In some embodiments, the links 103 and the network 104 comprise one or more of the same networks. In some aspects, for example, the links 103 and the network 104 comprise a telecommunication network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network). Moreover, in some embodiments, the media playback system 100 is implemented without the network 104, and devices comprising the media playback system 100 can communicate with each other, for example, via one or more direct connections, PANs, telecommunication networks, and/or other suitable communication links.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added or removed from the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, for example, the media playback system 100 performs an indexing of media items when one or more media content sources are updated, added to, and/or removed from the media playback system 100. The media playback system 100 can scan identifiable media items in some or all folders and/or directories accessible to the playback devices 110, and generate or update a media content database comprising metadata (e.g., title, artist, album, track length) and other associated information (e.g., URIs, URLs) for each identifiable media item found. In some embodiments, for example, the media content database is stored on one or more of the playback devices 110, network microphone devices 120, and/or control devices 130.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B, the playback devices 110 l and 110 m comprise a group 107 a. The playback devices 110 l and 110 m can be positioned in different rooms in a household and be grouped together in the group 107 a on a temporary or permanent basis based on user input received at the control device 130 a and/or another control device 130 in the media playback system 100. When arranged in the group 107 a, the playback devices 110 l and 110 m can be configured to play back the same or similar audio content in synchrony from one or more audio content sources. In certain embodiments, for example, the group 107 a comprises a bonded zone in which the playback devices 110 l and 110 m comprise left audio and right audio channels, respectively, of multi-channel audio content, thereby producing or enhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. In some embodiments, the group 107 a includes additional playback devices 110. In other embodiments, however, the media playback system 100 omits the group 107 a and/or other grouped arrangements of the playback devices 110.

The media playback system 100 includes the NMDs 120 a and 120 d, each comprising one or more microphones configured to receive voice utterances from a user. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B, the NMD 120 a is a standalone device and the NMD 120 d is integrated into the playback device 110 n. The NMD 120 a, for example, is configured to receive voice input 121 from a user 123. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 a transmits data associated with the received voice input 121 to a voice assistant service (VAS) configured to (i) process the received voice input data and (ii) transmit a corresponding command to the media playback system 100. In some aspects, for example, the computing device 106 c comprises one or more modules and/or servers of a VAS (e.g., a VAS operated by one or more of SONOS®, AMAZON®, GOOGLE® APPLE®, MICROSOFT®). The computing device 106 c can receive the voice input data from the NMD 120 a via the network 104 and the links 103. In response to receiving the voice input data, the computing device 106 c processes the voice input data (i.e., “Play Hey Jude by The Beatles”), and determines that the processed voice input includes a command to play a song (e.g., “Hey Jude”). The computing device 106 c accordingly transmits commands to the media playback system 100 to play back “Hey Jude” by the Beatles from a suitable media service (e.g., via one or more of the computing devices 106) on one or more of the playback devices 110.

b. Suitable Playback Devices

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of the playback device 110 a comprising an input/output 111. The input/output 111 can include an analog I/O 111 a (e.g., one or more wires, cables, and/or other suitable communication links configured to carry analog signals) and/or a digital I/O 111 b (e.g., one or more wires, cables, or other suitable communication links configured to carry digital signals). In some embodiments, the analog I/O 111 a is an audio line-in input connection comprising, for example, an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection. In some embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b comprises a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDF) communication interface and/or cable and/or a Toshiba Link (TOSLINK) cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b comprises an High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface and/or cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O 111 b includes one or more wireless communication links comprising, for example, a radio frequency (RF), infrared, WiFi, Bluetooth, or another suitable communication protocol. In certain embodiments, the analog I/O 111 a and the digital I/O 111 b comprise interfaces (e.g., ports, plugs, jacks) configured to receive connectors of cables transmitting analog and digital signals, respectively, without necessarily including cables.

The playback device 110 a, for example, can receive media content (e.g., audio content comprising music and/or other sounds) from a local audio source 105 via the input/output 111 (e.g., a cable, a wire, a PAN, a Bluetooth connection, an ad hoc wired or wireless communication network, and/or another suitable communication link). The local audio source 105 can comprise, for example, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer) or another suitable audio component (e.g., a television, a desktop computer, an amplifier, a phonograph, a Blu-ray player, a memory storing digital media files). In some aspects, the local audio source 105 includes local music libraries on a smartphone, a computer, a networked-attached storage (NAS), and/or another suitable device configured to store media files. In certain embodiments, one or more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130 comprise the local audio source 105. In other embodiments, however, the media playback system omits the local audio source 105 altogether. In some embodiments, the playback device 110 a does not include an input/output 111 and receives all audio content via the network 104.

The playback device 110 a further comprises electronics 112, a user interface 113 (e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitive surfaces, displays, touchscreens), and one or more transducers 114 (referred to hereinafter as “the transducers 114”). The electronics 112 is configured to receive audio from an audio source (e.g., the local audio source 105) via the input/output 111, one or more of the computing devices 106 a-c via the network 104 (FIG. 1B)), amplify the received audio, and output the amplified audio for playback via one or more of the transducers 114. In some embodiments, the playback device 110 a optionally includes one or more microphones 115 (e.g., a single microphone, a plurality of microphones, a microphone array) (hereinafter referred to as “the microphones 115”). In certain embodiments, for example, the playback device 110 a having one or more of the optional microphones 115 can operate as an NMD configured to receive voice input from a user and correspondingly perform one or more operations based on the received voice input.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1C, the electronics 112 comprise one or more processors 112 a (referred to hereinafter as “the processors 112 a”), memory 112 b, software components 112 c, a network interface 112 d, one or more audio processing components 112 g (referred to hereinafter as “the audio components 112 g”), one or more audio amplifiers 112 h (referred to hereinafter as “the amplifiers 112 h”), and power 112 i (e.g., one or more power supplies, power cables, power receptacles, batteries, induction coils, Power-over Ethernet (POE) interfaces, and/or other suitable sources of electric power). In some embodiments, the electronics 112 optionally include one or more other components 112 j (e.g., one or more sensors, video displays, touchscreens, battery charging bases).

The processors 112 a can comprise clock-driven computing component(s) configured to process data, and the memory 112 b can comprise a computer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, data storage loaded with one or more of the software components 112 c) configured to store instructions for performing various operations and/or functions. The processors 112 a are configured to execute the instructions stored on the memory 112 b to perform one or more of the operations. The operations can include, for example, causing the playback device 110 a to retrieve audio data from an audio source (e.g., one or more of the computing devices 106 a-c (FIG. 1B)), and/or another one of the playback devices 110. In some embodiments, the operations further include causing the playback device 110 a to send audio data to another one of the playback devices 110 a and/or another device (e.g., one of the NMDs 120). Certain embodiments include operations causing the playback device 110 a to pair with another of the one or more playback devices 110 to enable a multi-channel audio environment (e.g., a stereo pair, a bonded zone).

The processors 112 a can be further configured to perform operations causing the playback device 110 a to synchronize playback of audio content with another of the one or more playback devices 110. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, during synchronous playback of audio content on a plurality of playback devices, a listener will preferably be unable to perceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content by the playback device 110 a and the other one or more other playback devices 110. Additional details regarding audio playback synchronization among playback devices can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395, which was incorporated by reference above.

In some embodiments, the memory 112 b is further configured to store data associated with the playback device 110 a, such as one or more zones and/or zone groups of which the playback device 110 a is a member, audio sources accessible to the playback device 110 a, and/or a playback queue that the playback device 110 a (and/or another of the one or more playback devices) can be associated with. The stored data can comprise one or more state variables that are periodically updated and used to describe a state of the playback device 110 a. The memory 112 b can also include data associated with a state of one or more of the other devices (e.g., the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, control devices 130) of the media playback system 100. In some aspects, for example, the state data is shared during predetermined intervals of time (e.g., every 5 seconds, every 10 seconds, every 60 seconds) among at least a portion of the devices of the media playback system 100, so that one or more of the devices have the most recent data associated with the media playback system 100.

The network interface 112 d is configured to facilitate a transmission of data between the playback device 110 a and one or more other devices on a data network such as, for example, the links 103 and/or the network 104 (FIG. 1B). The network interface 112 d is configured to transmit and receive data corresponding to media content (e.g., audio content, video content, text, photographs) and other signals (e.g., non-transitory signals) comprising digital packet data including an Internet Protocol (IP)-based source address and/or an IP-based destination address. The network interface 112 d can parse the digital packet data such that the electronics 112 properly receives and processes the data destined for the playback device 110 a.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1C, the network interface 112 d comprises one or more wireless interfaces 112 e (referred to hereinafter as “the wireless interface 112 e”). The wireless interface 112 e (e.g., a suitable interface comprising one or more antennae) can be configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more of the other playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or control devices 130) that are communicatively coupled to the network 104 (FIG. 1B) in accordance with a suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE). In some embodiments, the network interface 112 d optionally includes a wired interface 112 f (e.g., an interface or receptacle configured to receive a network cable such as an Ethernet, a USB-A, USB-C, and/or Thunderbolt cable) configured to communicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordance with a suitable wired communication protocol. In certain embodiments, the network interface 112 d includes the wired interface 112 f and excludes the wireless interface 112 e. In some embodiments, the electronics 112 excludes the network interface 112 d altogether and transmits and receives media content and/or other data via another communication path (e.g., the input/output 111).

The audio components 112 g are configured to process and/or filter data comprising media content received by the electronics 112 (e.g., via the input/output 111 and/or the network interface 112 d) to produce output audio signals. In some embodiments, the audio processing components 112 g comprise, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC), audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, a digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other suitable audio processing components, modules, circuits, etc. In certain embodiments, one or more of the audio processing components 112 g can comprise one or more subcomponents of the processors 112 a. In some embodiments, the electronics 112 omits the audio processing components 112 g. In some aspects, for example, the processors 112 a execute instructions stored on the memory 112 b to perform audio processing operations to produce the output audio signals.

The amplifiers 112 h are configured to receive and amplify the audio output signals produced by the audio processing components 112 g and/or the processors 112 a. The amplifiers 112 h can comprise electronic devices and/or components configured to amplify audio signals to levels sufficient for driving one or more of the transducers 114. In some embodiments, for example, the amplifiers 112 h include one or more switching or class-D power amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, the amplifiers include one or more other types of power amplifiers (e.g., linear gain power amplifiers, class-A amplifiers, class-B amplifiers, class-AB amplifiers, class-C amplifiers, class-D amplifiers, class-E amplifiers, class-F amplifiers, class-G and/or class H amplifiers, and/or another suitable type of power amplifier). In certain embodiments, the amplifiers 112 h comprise a suitable combination of two or more of the foregoing types of power amplifiers. Moreover, in some embodiments, individual ones of the amplifiers 112 h correspond to individual ones of the transducers 114. In other embodiments, however, the electronics 112 includes a single one of the amplifiers 112 h configured to output amplified audio signals to a plurality of the transducers 114. In some other embodiments, the electronics 112 omits the amplifiers 112 h.

The transducers 114 (e.g., one or more speakers and/or speaker drivers) receive the amplified audio signals from the amplifier 112 h and render or output the amplified audio signals as sound (e.g., audible sound waves having a frequency between about 20 Hertz (Hz) and 20 kilohertz (kHz)). In some embodiments, the transducers 114 can comprise a single transducer. In other embodiments, however, the transducers 114 comprise a plurality of audio transducers. In some embodiments, the transducers 114 comprise more than one type of transducer. For example, the transducers 114 can include one or more low frequency transducers (e.g., subwoofers, woofers), mid-range frequency transducers (e.g., mid-range transducers, mid-woofers), and one or more high frequency transducers (e.g., one or more tweeters). As used herein, “low frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies below about 500 Hz, “mid-range frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies between about 500 Hz and about 2 kHz, and “high frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies above 2 kHz. In certain embodiments, however, one or more of the transducers 114 comprise transducers that do not adhere to the foregoing frequency ranges. For example, one of the transducers 114 may comprise a mid-woofer transducer configured to output sound at frequencies between about 200 Hz and about 5 kHz.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered) for sale certain playback devices including, for example, a “SONOS ONE,” “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,” “PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “PLAYBASE,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Other suitable playback devices may additionally or alternatively be used to implement the playback devices of example embodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, one of ordinary skilled in the art will appreciate that a playback device is not limited to the examples described herein or to SONOS product offerings. In some embodiments, for example, one or more playback devices 110 comprises wired or wireless headphones (e.g., over-the-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, in-ear earphones). In other embodiments, one or more of the playback devices 110 comprise a docking station and/or an interface configured to interact with a docking station for personal mobile media playback devices. In certain embodiments, a playback device may be integral to another device or component such as a television, a lighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use. In some embodiments, a playback device omits a user interface and/or one or more transducers. For example, FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playback device 110 p comprising the input/output 111 and electronics 112 without the user interface 113 or transducers 114.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a bonded playback device 110 q comprising the playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C) sonically bonded with the playback device 110 i (e.g., a subwoofer) (FIG. 1A). In the illustrated embodiment, the playback devices 110 a and 110 i are separate ones of the playback devices 110 housed in separate enclosures. In some embodiments, however, the bonded playback device 110 q comprises a single enclosure housing both the playback devices 110 a and 110 i. The bonded playback device 110 q can be configured to process and reproduce sound differently than an unbonded playback device (e.g., the playback device 110 a of FIG. 1C) and/or paired or bonded playback devices (e.g., the playback devices 110 l and 110 m of FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, for example, the playback device 110 a is full-range playback device configured to render low frequency, mid-range frequency, and high frequency audio content, and the playback device 110 i is a subwoofer configured to render low frequency audio content. In some aspects, the playback device 110 a, when bonded with the first playback device, is configured to render only the mid-range and high frequency components of a particular audio content, while the playback device 110 i renders the low frequency component of the particular audio content. In some embodiments, the bonded playback device 110 q includes additional playback devices and/or another bonded playback device.

c. Suitable Network Microphone Devices (NMDs)

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of the NMD 120 a (FIGS. 1A and 1B). The NMD 120 a includes one or more voice processing components 124 (hereinafter “the voice components 124”) and several components described with respect to the playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C) including the processors 112 a, the memory 112 b, and the microphones 115. The NMD 120 a optionally comprises other components also included in the playback device 110 a (FIG. 1C), such as the user interface 113 and/or the transducers 114. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 a is configured as a media playback device (e.g., one or more of the playback devices 110), and further includes, for example, one or more of the audio components 112 g (FIG. 1C), the amplifiers 112 h, and/or other playback device components. In certain embodiments, the NMD 120 a comprises an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as, for example, a thermostat, alarm panel, fire and/or smoke detector, etc. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 a comprises the microphones 115, the voice processing 124, and only a portion of the components of the electronics 112 described above with respect to FIG. 1B. In some aspects, for example, the NMD 120 a includes the processor 112 a and the memory 112 b (FIG. 1B), while omitting one or more other components of the electronics 112. In some embodiments, the NMD 120 a includes additional components (e.g., one or more sensors, cameras, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers).

In some embodiments, an NMD can be integrated into a playback device. FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device 110 r comprising an NMD 120 d. The playback device 110 r can comprise many or all of the components of the playback device 110 a and further include the microphones 115 and voice processing 124 (FIG. 1F). The playback device 110 r optionally includes an integrated control device 130 c. The control device 130 c can comprise, for example, a user interface (e.g., the user interface 113 of FIG. 1B) configured to receive user input (e.g., touch input, voice input) without a separate control device. In other embodiments, however, the playback device 110 r receives commands from another control device (e.g., the control device 130 a of FIG. 1B).

Referring again to FIG. 1F, the microphones 115 are configured to acquire, capture, and/or receive sound from an environment (e.g., the environment 101 of FIG. 1A) and/or a room in which the NMD 120 a is positioned. The received sound can include, for example, vocal utterances, audio played back by the NMD 120 a and/or another playback device, background voices, ambient sounds, etc. The microphones 115 convert the received sound into electrical signals to produce microphone data. The voice processing 124 receives and analyzes the microphone data to determine whether a voice input is present in the microphone data. The voice input can comprise, for example, an activation word followed by an utterance including a user request. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, an activation word is a word or other audio cue that signifying a user voice input. For instance, in querying the AMAZON® VAS, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa.” Other examples include “Ok, Google” for invoking the GOOGLE® VAS and “Hey, Siri” for invoking the APPLE® VAS.

After detecting the activation word, voice processing 124 monitors the microphone data for an accompanying user request in the voice input. The user request may include, for example, a command to control a network-enabled device, such as a thermostat (e.g., NEST® thermostat), an illumination device (e.g., a PHILIPS HUE® lighting device), or a media playback device (e.g., a Sonos® playback device). For example, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa” followed by the utterance “set the thermostat to 68 degrees” to set a temperature in a home (e.g., the environment 101 of FIG. 1A). The user might speak the same activation word followed by the utterance “turn on the living room” to turn on illumination devices in a living room area of the home. The user may similarly speak an activation word followed by a request to play a particular song, an album, or a playlist of music on a playback device in the home.

d. Suitable Control Devices

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of the control device 130 a (FIGS. 1A and 1B). As used herein, the term “control device” can be used interchangeably with “controller” or “control system.” Among other features, the control device 130 a is configured to receive user input related to the media playback system 100 and, in response, cause one or more devices in the media playback system 100 to perform an action(s) or operation(s) corresponding to the user input. In the illustrated embodiment, the control device 130 a comprises a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone) on which media playback system controller application software is installed. In some embodiments, the control device 130 a comprises, for example, a tablet (e.g., an iPad™), a computer (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer), and/or another suitable device (e.g., a television, an automobile audio head unit, an IoT device). In certain embodiments, the control device 130 a comprises a dedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In other embodiments, as described above with respect to FIG. 1G, the control device 130 a is integrated into another device in the media playback system 100 (e.g., one more of the playback devices 110, NMDs 120, and/or other suitable devices configured to communicate over a network).

The control device 130 a includes electronics 132, a user interface 133, one or more speakers 134, and one or more microphones 135. The electronics 132 comprise one or more processors 132 a (referred to hereinafter as “the processors 132 a”), a memory 132 b, software components 132 c, and a network interface 132 d. The processor 132 a can be configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and configuration of the media playback system 100. The memory 132 b can comprise data storage that can be loaded with one or more of the software components executable by the processor 132 a to perform those functions. The software components 132 c can comprise applications and/or other executable software configured to facilitate control of the media playback system 100. The memory 112 b can be configured to store, for example, the software components 132 c, media playback system controller application software, and/or other data associated with the media playback system 100 and the user.

The network interface 132 d is configured to facilitate network communications between the control device 130 a and one or more other devices in the media playback system 100, and/or one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, the network interface 132 d is configured to operate according to one or more suitable communication industry standards (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3, wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G, LTE). The network interface 132 d can be configured, for example, to transmit data to and/or receive data from the playback devices 110, the NMDs 120, other ones of the control devices 130, one of the computing devices 106 of FIG. 1B, devices comprising one or more other media playback systems, etc. The transmitted and/or received data can include, for example, playback device control commands, state variables, playback zone and/or zone group configurations. For instance, based on user input received at the user interface 133, the network interface 132 d can transmit a playback device control command (e.g., volume control, audio playback control, audio content selection) from the control device 130 a to one or more of the playback devices 110. The network interface 132 d can also transmit and/or receive configuration changes such as, for example, adding/removing one or more playback devices 110 to/from a zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forming a bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devices from a bonded or consolidated player, among others.

The user interface 133 is configured to receive user input and can facilitate ‘control of the media playback system 100. The user interface 133 includes media content art 133 a (e.g., album art, lyrics, videos), a playback status indicator 133 b (e.g., an elapsed and/or remaining time indicator), media content information region 133 c, a playback control region 133 d, and a zone indicator 133 e. The media content information region 133 c can include a display of relevant information (e.g., title, artist, album, genre, release year) about media content currently playing and/or media content in a queue or playlist. The playback control region 133 d can include selectable (e.g., via touch input and/or via a cursor or another suitable selector) icons to cause one or more playback devices in a selected playback zone or zone group to perform playback actions such as, for example, play or pause, fast forward, rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode, enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode, etc. The playback control region 133 d may also include selectable icons to modify equalization settings, playback volume, and/or other suitable playback actions. In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface 133 comprises a display presented on a touch screen interface of a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone). In some embodiments, however, user interfaces of varying formats, styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented on one or more network devices to provide comparable control access to a media playback system.

The one or more speakers 134 (e.g., one or more transducers) can be configured to output sound to the user of the control device 130 a. In some embodiments, the one or more speakers comprise individual transducers configured to correspondingly output low frequencies, mid-range frequencies, and/or high frequencies. In some aspects, for example, the control device 130 a is configured as a playback device (e.g., one of the playback devices 110). Similarly, in some embodiments the control device 130 a is configured as an NMD (e.g., one of the NMDs 120), receiving voice commands and other sounds via the one or more microphones 135.

The one or more microphones 135 can comprise, for example, one or more condenser microphones, electret condenser microphones, dynamic microphones, and/or other suitable types of microphones or transducers. In some embodiments, two or more of the microphones 135 are arranged to capture location information of an audio source (e.g., voice, audible sound) and/or configured to facilitate filtering of background noise. Moreover, in certain embodiments, the control device 130 a is configured to operate as playback device and an NMD. In other embodiments, however, the control device 130 a omits the one or more speakers 134 and/or the one or more microphones 135. For instance, the control device 130 a may comprise a device (e.g., a thermostat, an IoT device, a network device) comprising a portion of the electronics 132 and the user interface 133 (e.g., a touch screen) without any speakers or microphones.

III. Example Audio Notification Playback

As indicated above, examples described herein relate to example techniques for playback devices to output audio notifications or alert communications from network-enabled devices.

FIG. 2 depicts an example environment 201 in which a playback device 210 outputs audio alerts from one or more network-enabled devices 240 a, 240 b, 240 c, and 240 d (collectively referred to as network-enabled devices 240).

The playback device 210 may be similar or equivalent to any of the playback devices 110 depicted in FIGS. 1A-1E and 1G. As such, the playback device 210 includes an audio stage having an amplifier configured to receive audio signals and output the received audio signals as sound by driving one or more transducers, such as one or more speakers. In some examples, the playback device 210 includes one or more transducers, and the speaker drivers output the audio signals as sound by driving the transducers of the playback device 210. In other examples, the playback device 210 is coupled to externally connected transducers, such as passive speakers, and the speaker drivers output the audio signals as sound by driving the externally connected transducers.

The network-enabled devices 240 represent various different types of devices configured to communicate with other devices over a network, and are sometimes referred to as “smart devices” or “IoT devices.” The network-enabled devices 240 can include third-party devices provided by a manufacturer or vendor that is different from the manufacturer or vendor of the playback device 210. For instance, in examples where the playback device 210 is a playback device manufactured by Sonos®, a third-party network-enabled device 240 can include any non-Sonos® smart device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the environment 201 includes a network-enabled doorbell 240 a (e.g., a Nest® Hello or a Ring® Video Doorbell), a network-enabled thermostat 240 b (e.g., a Nest® Learning Thermostat or an Ecobee® thermostat), a network-enabled robotic vacuum 240 c (e.g., an iRobot® Roomba or a Neato® Botvac), and a network-enabled oven 240 d (e.g., a GE® smart oven or a Whirlpool® smart range). However, these example network-enabled devices 240 are merely illustrative, and in other examples the network-enabled devices 240 can include additional, fewer, and/or various other types of smart devices, including, but not limited to, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, security systems, cameras, lighting systems, and various types of smart appliances, such as refrigerators, microwave ovens, dishwashers, laundry machines, and the like.

The network-enabled devices 240 are configured to generate alerts upon detecting various events. For instance, the doorbell 240 a may generate an alert responsive to detecting the presence of an individual at the door, such as by determining that the individual has interacted with a user interface of the doorbell (e.g., detecting a button press or touchscreen interaction) or by using a camera or motion sensor of the doorbell 240 a to detect the individual's presence. The thermostat 240 b may generate an alert responsive to determining that the environment 201 has reached a threshold high or low temperature or responsive to activating or deactivating an HVAC system of the environment 201. The robotic vacuum 240 c may generate an alert responsive to starting or finishing a cleaning cycle. The oven 240 d may generate an alert responsive to reaching a threshold temperature or determining that a cook timer has expired. These alert examples are merely illustrative, and in other examples the network-enabled devices 240 may generate additional, fewer, or different types of alerts.

The network-enabled devices 240 provide the generated alerts to a user. In some cases, the network-enabled devices 240 provide the generated alerts to the user by causing the user's mobile device to output an audio and/or visual notification of the generated alert. For instance, the network-enabled device 240 can cause a control device 230 to display a notification of the generated alert. The control device 230 may be similar or equivalent to the control device 130 a depicted in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1H and may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, or the like.

In some circumstances, the user may prefer to be notified via a media playback system. For example, the user may prefer to be alerted of high-priority events from certain types of devices such as alarms (e.g., smoke alarm, carbon monoxide alarm) via the media playback system.

In some circumstances, the user might not be effectively notified via a mobile device. For instance, the mobile device may be control device 230, and the user might not receive the notification of the generated alerts output by the control device 230, as the user may have powered off or silenced the control device 230, or the control device 230 may have powered itself off responsive to low battery power. As another example, the playback device 210 may be playing back music or other audio content that drowns out or otherwise distracts the user from the alert notifications output by the control device 230.

Disclosed herein are example systems and methods for providing additional and/or alternative notifications of the network-enabled device generated alerts, which can increase the likelihood of the user effectively receiving the notifications and improve the user experience. In particular, the present disclosure provides example systems and methods that involve the playback device 210 outputting audio notifications of the network-enabled device alerts.

In order to output audio notifications of the network-enabled device alerts, the playback device 210 can be configured with an application programming interface (API) through which the network-enabled devices 240 can communicate with the playback device 210. Example features of the API are shown and described in further detail below. However, these API features are merely illustrative, and in other examples, additional, fewer, and/or different API features can be used.

A. Example API

An example API can define various parameters that the network-enabled device 240 and/or the playback device 210 can use to facilitate causing the playback device 210 to output an audio notification of the network-enabled device alert. Table 1 shown below provides example API parameters, each of which are explained in further detail below. However, these parameters are for illustrative purposes, and in other examples, the API may define additional, fewer, and/or alternative parameters.

TABLE 1 Parameter Type id String name String appId String priority Enumerated notification Enumerated streamUrl String httpAuthorization String expiryMillis Integer shouldLoop Boolean status Enumerated errorCode Error

As shown in Table 1, one example parameter defined by the API is an id parameter. The id parameter represents a string type parameter that represents an identifier of a particular audio notification. In some examples, the playback device 210 generates a value of the id parameter and assigns the value to a particular audio notification.

Another example parameter is a name parameter. The name parameter represents a string type parameter that represents a user-identifiable name associated with an audio notification. The user-identifiable name can include a name of the network-enabled device 240 that generated the alert and/or a description of a type of the alert. In some examples, the network-enabled device 240 specifies a value of the name parameter for a particular audio notification.

Another example parameter is an appId parameter. The appId parameter represents a string type parameter that identifies an application that generated a particular audio notification. As shown, the appId parameter is a reversed Internet domain associated with the application, such as “com.acme.app,” where “acme.com” is the domain prior to reversal. In other examples, the appId parameter can take various other forms.

Another example parameter is a priority parameter. The priority parameter represents an enumerated type parameter that specifies a priority of an audio notification. In some examples, the priority parameter comprises enumerated values of “LOW” or “HIGH” for respectively setting the priority as low or high, but in other examples, the priority parameter may comprise additional or different enumerated values. For instance, the priority parameter may indicate priority level on a numerical scale (e.g., 1-5). In some examples, the network-enabled device 240 sets the value of the priority parameter for a particular audio notification. In other examples, the playback device 210 sets the value of the playback parameter based on the type of network-enabled device 240 that generated the alert corresponding to the audio notification. In yet another example, the user may indicate via a user interface the priority to assign to a particular alert from the network-enabled device 240.

The network-enabled devices 240 can set the priority parameter to “HIGH” for audio notifications that correspond to network-enabled device alerts that are particularly time-sensitive, and “LOW” for audio notifications that are less time-sensitive. Time-sensitive audio notifications are alerts that are to be played back as closely as possible to the event triggering the audio notification. Example high priority alerts may include, but are not limited to, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, oven timers, and security alarms. Example low priority alerts may include, but are not limited to, doorbells, phone calls, completed laundry cycle, motion detectors, and preheated ovens. And, as explained in further detail below with respect to FIGS. 4A-4D, the playback device 210 is configured to play back audio notifications in a certain way based on their specified priority.

Another example parameter is a notification parameter. The notification parameter represents an enumerated type parameter that specifies a particular audio source that the playback device 210 outputs as the network-enabled device alert notification. In some examples, the notification parameter comprises enumerated values of (i) “CHIME” which, when set as the notification enumerated value, causes the playback device 210 to output a default chime audio notification as the network-enabled device alert notification, and (ii) “CUSTOM” which, when set as the notification enumerated value, causes the playback device 210 to output a custom audio notification as the network-enabled device alert notification. In other examples, the notification enumerated values may comprise additional or different values. The audio for the default chime audio notification may be stored in the memory of playback device, while the audio for the custom audio notification may be specified by the network-enabled device, as explained in further detail below.

Another example parameter is a streamUrl parameter. The streamUrl parameter represents a string type parameter that specifies a URL of an audio source for the playback device 210 to output as the custom audio notification as the third-part alert notification. As such, when the notification parameter is set as “CUSTOM,” the playback device 210 can retrieve the audio source from the URL specified as the streamUrl parameter, and can play back the retrieved audio source as the network-enabled device alert notification.

Another example parameter is an httpAuthorization parameter. The httpAuthorization parameter represents a string type parameter that specifies credentials for authorizing access to the URL specified by the streamUrl parameter when the specified URL requires authentication, such as when the specified URL is secure (e.g., using https).

Another example parameter is an expiryMillis parameter. The expiryMillis parameter represents an integer type parameter that indicates how long a particular audio notification is permitted to be queued in a notification queue for playback before dismissing the audio notification from notification queue. In the present example, the value of the expiryMillis parameter specifies such a time limit in milliseconds, but other example implementations are possible as well.

Another example parameter is a shouldLoop parameter. The shouldLoop parameter can be a Boolean type parameter that specifies whether the playback device 210 should loop the playback of a particular audio notification. If the shouldLoop parameter is set as “FALSE,” then the playback device 210 plays back the audio notification once. If the shouldLoop parameter is set as “TRUE,” then the playback device 210 loops playback of the audio notification for a predetermined amount of time. The predetermined amount of time may depend on the priority value of the audio notification. For instance, the playback device 210 may be configured to loop playback of high priority audio notifications for a longer predetermined amount of time than low priority audio notifications.

Another example parameter is a status parameter. The status parameter can be an enumerated type parameter that identifies a current status of a particular audio notification. In an example, the status parameter enumerated values include (i) “PENDING” for audio notifications that are scheduled for playback but are not currently being played back, (ii) “ACTIVE” for audio notifications that are currently being played back, and (iii) “DISMISSED” for audio notifications that have been dismissed. In other examples, the status parameter enumerated values may comprise additional or different values.

Another example parameter is an errorCode parameter. The errorCode parameter represents an error type parameter to which the playback device 210 assigns a particular value responsive to detecting a particular error condition. Example error values include (i) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_DO_NOT_DISTURB,” which the playback device 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that the playback device 210 is in a “do not disturb” mode that temporarily disables audio notification playback, (ii) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_ID_NOT_FOUND,” which the playback device 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that the playback device 210 is unable to retrieve the specified audio source for the audio notification (e.g., the audio source identified by the streamUrl parameter), (iii) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_MEDIA_ERROR,” which the playback device 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that the specified audio source for the audio notification is a type of media that is unsupported for playback by the playback device 210, (iv) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_CANCEL,” which the playback device 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that the audio notification has been canceled prior to playing back the notification, and (v) “ERROR_AUDIO_CLIP_EXPIRE,” which the playback device 210 can assign to the errorCode parameter responsive to determining that the audio notification has expired prior to playing back the notification (e.g., determining that the time specified by the expiryMillis parameter has elapsed before playback). In other examples, the playback device 210 can assign additional or different values to the errorCode parameter responsive to detecting additional or different error conditions.

B. Example Use of the API

Using the above-described API, the network-enabled devices 240 can communicate with the playback device 210 to cause the playback device 210 to output an audio notification of one or more alerts generated by the network-enabled devices 240 or to perform various other functions related to the audio notification.

The network-enabled devices 240 can be connected to the same network (e.g., local area network, Bluetooth) as the media playback system of playback device 210. The network-enabled devices 240 can communicate directly with the playback device 210 over the network, or the network-enabled devices 240 can communicate with the playback device 210 via one or more intermediary computing devices, such as the computing devices 206 shown in FIG. 2. For instance, in some examples, the computing devices 206 include a third-party server affiliated with one or more of the network-enabled devices 240 as well as a first-party server affiliated with the playback device 210. In such examples, the network-enabled devices 240 can communicate with the playback device 210 by sending a communication to the third-party server over a wide area network (WAN), which then sends the communication to the first-party server, which then sends the communication to the playback device 210 over a WAN. Similarly, the playback device 210 can communicate with one or more of the network-enabled devices 240 by sending a communication to the first-party server, which then sends the communication to the third-party server, which then sends the communication to the network-enabled device 240. Other examples are possible as well.

Using one or more servers as intermediaries between the playback device 210 and the network-enabled devices 240 may have various advantages. Such servers may be more reliably connected to the playback device 210 and/or the network-enabled devices 240, as such computing devices may have a static network address (or domain) whereas individual devices may have dynamic addresses. Further, such servers may implement additional cloud services, such as backup or logging of notifications. Yet further, security may be enhanced.

FIG. 3A shows an example alert message 300 that the network-enabled devices 240 can send to the playback device 210 to cause or request the playback device 210 to output an audio notification of an alert. The alert message 300 includes a header portion 302 and a body portion 304.

In the header 302, the network-enabled device 240 specifies a command for the playback device 210 to execute, as well as identifiers specifying which playback device 210 is to carry out the command. In this manner, the network-enabled device 240 can specify certain speakers to play back alert notifications, which can improve user experience. For instance, the oven 240 d is located in a kitchen, so the oven 240 d can specify that the playback device 210, which is also located in the kitchen, is to play back the alert notification from the oven 240 d. As shown, the header 302 specifies that the playback device 210 that is named “xyz” and located in household “ABCD1234” is to execute a “loadAudioClip” command. The specified playback device 210 can be a standalone playback device or a playback device that is grouped with one or more other playback devices (e.g., a playback device grouped in a surround sound configuration, including rear channel speakers).

In some examples, the alert message 300 may address multiple playback devices (e.g., all networked playback devices on a given network). For instance, in an example, the header 302 does not specify a particular playback device 210 for carrying out the command to play back an audio notification, so as to address any playback device 210 receiving the alert message 300. In this case, if multiple playback devices receive the notification, all of these networked playback devices concurrently play back the notification. As another example, the alert message 300 can specify multiple playback devices to play back the audio notification, and the playback device 210 receiving the alert message 300 can synchronize playback of the audio notification across the specified playback devices. The multiple playback device specified to play back the audio notifications may be identified individually using an identifier of the playback device (e.g., serial number, name, other unique alphanumeric string, etc.) As yet another example, the alert message 300 can specify that the audio notification is to be played back across grouped playback devices, and the playback device 210 receiving the alert message 300 can synchronize playback of the audio notification across any playback devices grouped with the playback device 210. This feature can be an “include grouped devices” option enabling an alert message 300 targeting a player in a group to be played synchronously by all players in the same group. Other examples are possible as well.

The body 304 of the alert message 300 specifies various parameter values that the playback device 210 uses when executing the “loadAudioClip” command, including values for the name, appId, priority, notification, streamUrl, and expiryMillis parameters, each of which is described above in further detail. As shown in FIG. 3A, the alert message 300 causes the playback device 210 to play back a low priority alert notification generated by a network-enabled device 240 associated with an application named “Example.” The alert message 300 further specifies that, when playing back this notification, the playback device 210 will output a custom audio signal that is retrieved from a particular URI or URL such as http://example.com/notification.mp3. Additionally, based on the expiryMillis parameter being set to 2000, the playback device 210 will cancel playback of the notification if 2000 milliseconds (or 2 seconds) elapse before the playback device 210 begins playing back the notification.

Responsive to receiving the alert message 300 from the network-enabled device 240, the playback device 210 sends, to the network-enabled device 240, response message 310 that acknowledges receipt of the alert message 300 and provides a status of the notification. Similar to the alert message 300, the response message 310 includes a header portion 312 and a body portion 314. In the header 312, the playback device 210 specifies that the response message 310 is provided in response to the loadAudioClip command provided by the network-enabled device 240 and indicates that the loadAudioClip command was successfully received.

The body 314 of the response message 310 includes additional parameter values specified by the playback device 210. For instance, the playback device 210 assigns a value to the id parameter, which identifies the audio notification requested by the alert message 300. As shown, the playback device 210 has identified the audio notification as “NEW NOTIFICATION.” Additionally, the body 314 of the response message 310 reports a status of the audio notification. As shown, the status of the audio notification is “PENDING,” which, as noted above, means the audio notification is queued for playback by the playback device 210.

In addition to sending the response message 310, the playback device 210 also takes steps to play back the audio notification requested by the alert message 300. In some examples, the playback device 210 maintains a queue of notifications, and the playback device plays back the queued notifications according to their order in the notification queue. In such examples, responsive to receiving the alert message 300, the playback device 210 adds the audio notification identified by the alert message 300 into the notification queue.

FIG. 4A depicts an example notification queue 400. The notification queue 400 can be stored in a memory of the playback device 210. The notification queue 400 includes a number of notifications 404 (identified as queued notifications 1-4) queued for playback, each notification having a respective status 402 and a respective priority 406. As shown, the status 402 of queued notification 1 is “ACTIVE,” which indicates that the playback device 210 is currently playing back this notification. The remaining notifications have “PENDING” statuses, which indicates that these notifications are awaiting playback by the playback device 210. As further shown, queued notifications 1 and 2 have high priorities, so the playback device 210 has arranged these notifications at the top of the notification queue 400, and queued notifications 3 and 4 have low priorities, so the playback device 210 has arranged these notifications after the high priority notifications.

FIGS. 4B, 4C, and 4D depict examples of the notification queue 400 after the playback device 210 adds a new notification to the notification queue 400.

FIG. 4B depicts an example of the notification queue 400 after the playback device 210 receives and processes the alert message 300. As noted above, the network-enabled device 240 specifies in the alert message 300 that the new notification has a low priority. Based on the new notification having a low priority, the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the notification queue 400 at a queue position that is after the high priority notifications. As shown, the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the end of the queue, after the other already-queued (i.e., pending) low priority notifications. However, in other examples, the playback device 210 can be configured to add the new notification to the notification queue 400 at a queue position that is after the high priority notifications and before the other pending low priority notifications.

FIG. 4C depicts another example of the notification queue 400 after the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the notification queue 400. In this example, the network-enabled device 240 has specified that the new notification has a high priority. Based on the new notification having a high priority, the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the notification queue 400 at a queue position that is before the low priority notifications. As shown, the playback device 210 adds the new notification before the low priority notifications, but after the other pending high priority notifications. However, in other examples, the playback device 210 can be configured to add the new notification to the notification queue 400 at a queue position that is before the other pending high priority notifications, but after any notification that the playback device 210 is currently playing back (i.e., after any active notification).

FIG. 4D depicts yet another example of the notification queue 400 after the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the notification queue 400. In this example, the network-enabled device 240 has again specified that the new notification has a high priority. Based on the new notification having a high priority, the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the front of the notification queue 400 and begins playing back the new notification. To facilitate this, the playback device 210 interrupts (e.g., pauses or stops) playback of the active queued notification 1 and transitions queued notification 1 to a pending state in the notification queue 400. As shown, the playback device 210 moves interrupted queued notification 1 to a queue position that is before all other pending queue notifications. However, in other examples, the playback device 210 can be configured to move interrupted queue notification 1 to a queue position that is after the other pending high priority notifications, or to the end of the notification queue 400 in examples where the interrupted queued notification 1 is a low priority notification.

In some examples, instead of returning an interrupted notification to the notification queue 400 (e.g., as described in connection with FIG. 4D), the playback device 210 can report the interruption to the network-enabled device 240 that initially requested the interrupted notification. Responsive to receiving the reported interruption, the network-enabled device 240 can determine whether the interrupted notification is still relevant (e.g., whether the conditions that caused the network-enabled device 240 to generate the alert corresponding to the interrupted notification are still present) and, if so, then the network-enabled device 240 can then send a subsequent request to the playback device 210 to cause the playback device 210 to play back the interrupted notification again.

In some examples, the playback device 210 is configured to interrupt an active notification in order to play back a new notification (e.g., as described in connection with FIG. 4D) only under certain circumstances. For instance, the playback device 210 can be configured such that, when the active notification is a low priority notification and the new notification is a high priority notification, the playback device 210 interrupts playback of the active low priority notification to play back the new high priority notification. On the other hand, when both the active and new notifications are high priority notifications, the playback device 210 can be configured to interrupt the active high priority notification with the new high priority notification only if the playback device 210 has been playing back the active high priority notification for a threshold amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds). This behavior may prevent a high priority notification from being missed by a user. Otherwise, if the playback device 210 has not been playing back the active high priority notification for the threshold amount of time, then the playback device 210 adds the new notification to the notification queue 400 without interrupting playback of the active notification.

As another example, the playback device 210 can be configured such that, when the new notification is a low priority notification, the playback device 210 does not interrupt playback of the active notification unless the active notification is a low priority notification that the playback device 210 has been playing back for the threshold amount of time. As yet another example, the playback device 210 can be configured such that, when the new notification is a low priority notification, the playback device 210 does not interrupt playback of the active notification, regardless of the priority of the active notification.

In addition to adding new notifications to the notification queue 400, the playback device 210 can be configured to remove notifications from the notification queue 400 under certain circumstances. As described above, for instance, the network-enabled devices 240 can specify a maximum amount of time that an alert notification is permitted to be queued for playback in the notification queue 400 (e.g., using the expiryMillis parameter). As such, the playback device 210 can determine that an alert notification has been in the notification queue 400 for a threshold amount of time corresponding to an expired audio notification, for instance by determining that an alert notification has been in the notification queue 400 for the amount of time specified by the expiryMillis parameter. In response to making such a determination, the playback device 210 can remove the expired alert notification from the notification queue.

In addition to treating the low and high priority notifications differently when adding new notifications to the notification queue 400, the playback device 210 can be configured to treat low and high priority notifications differently when playing back the notifications. As an example, the playback device 210 can be configured to play back high priority notifications at a higher volume than low priority notifications. As another example, the playback device 210 can be configured to play back low and high priority notifications for different lengths of time. For instance, the playback device 210 can be configured to limit playback of notifications to a threshold playback time, and once the threshold playback time has elapsed, the playback device 210 dismisses playback of the notification. As such, the playback device 210 can set the threshold playback time to be longer for high priority notifications (e.g., 1 hour) than for low priority notifications (e.g., 1 minute).

In some examples, the notification queue 400 is empty, such that the playback device 210 is not playing back any notifications. Instead, the playback device 210 can be playing back various other audio content, such as music, television audio, audiobooks, or the like. In such a scenario, when the playback device 210 receives a request from one of the network-enabled devices 240 to play back an alert notification (e.g., when the playback device 210 receives alert message 300), the playback device 210 can adjust the playback of the other audio content in order to facilitate playing back the alert notification.

As described above with respect to the example operating environment, example playback devices 110 may implement a playback queue to manage playback of multiple items of audio content. A notification queue may be separate and distinct from a playback queue implemented by a playback device 110 for general playback of audio content. An example playback device 210 may implement both a playback queue and a notification queue concurrently. In some cases, as described in further detail below, the notification queue may take control or otherwise modify playback from the playback queue.

In some examples, the playback device 210 temporarily reduces the volume of (also referred to as “ducking”) the other audio content and plays back the alert notification concurrently with the ducked audio content. U.S. Pat. No. 9,665,341 entitled, “Synchronized audio mixing,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, provides in more detail some examples of a playback device mixing audio content for concurrent playback. In other examples, the playback device 210 stops playback of the other audio content, plays back the alert notification, and then resumes playback of the other audio content after playing back the alert notification.

In some examples, whether the playback device 210 ducks the other audio content or stops playback of the other audio content depends on whether the alert notification is a high priority notification or a low priority notification. For instance, for low priority notifications, the playback device 210 can duck the other audio content and play back the low priority notification concurrently with the ducked audio content. For high priority notifications, the playback device 210 can stop playing back the other audio content, play back the high priority notification, and then resume playing back the other audio content after playing back the high priority notification.

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, whether the playback device 210 ducks the other audio content or stops playback of the other audio content depends on a type of the other audio content. For instance, if the playback device 210 determines that the other audio content includes long play content, such as audiobooks, podcasts, or movie audio, then the playback device 210 stops playing back the other audio content, plays back the notification, and then resumes playing back the other audio content after playing back the notification. If the playback device 210 determines that the other audio content includes short play content, such as music, then the playback device 210 ducks the other audio content and plays back the notification concurrently with the ducked audio content. To facilitate this, the playback device 210 can be preset to treat certain types of audio content as long play or short play.

In some examples, the playback device 210 determines whether to duck or stop playback of the other audio content based on a source of the other audio content. Depending on the audio source, the playback device 210 may be unable to control the audio source (e.g., causing the audio source to pause, stop, or resume the audio content). For instance, some audio sources may provide the other audio content to the playback device 210 through a line-in connection or some other connection through which the playback device 210 is unable to control the audio source. Alternatively, even if the playback device 210 is capable of controlling the audio source, doing so might result in an undesirable user experience. For instance, the audio source may include a live streaming service, such as a live radio broadcast, that if paused would resume at a later live time or would cause the user's feed to be delayed from the live feed. As such, the playback device 210 can be configured to duck playback of any audio content that is provided by an audio source that the playback device 210 cannot interrupt, such as audio content received through a line-in connection, or for which interruption would result in an undesirable user experience, such as live-streaming audio content.

As described above, the playback device 210 can be configured to limit the amount of time that the playback device 210 plays back a particular notification, such that the playback device 210 automatically dismisses playback of the notification after a threshold amount of time elapses. However, a user may wish to dismiss playback of an alert notification without waiting for the threshold amount of time to elapse. As such, the playback device 210 can be configured to receive user input for dismissing playback of an alert notification.

In some examples, the playback device 210 includes a user interface (e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitive surfaces, displays, touchscreens), such as the user interface 113 described above in connection with FIG. 1C. The user interface can also include a visual indicator, such as an LED. When the playback device 210 is outputting a notification, the playback device 210 can cause the visual indicator to indicate that the notification is playing, for instance by illuminating the LED in a particular color or in a particular pattern.

While playing back an alert notification, the playback device 210 can receive user input via the user interface, and, responsive to receiving the user input, the playback device 210 dismisses playback of the alert notification. For instance, during playback of an alert notification, a skip forward button may be configured to skip forward from playback of a given notification to playback of another notification in the notification queue or to the currently playing media item in the playback queue. As another example, a play/pause button may be configured to dismiss the currently playing alert notification. As yet another example, the user may perform a particular gesture or input pattern, such as a double tap of a particular button or a particular swipe pattern on the user interface, to dismiss the currently playing alert notification.

In some examples, the playback device 210 causes the control device 230 to display, via its graphical user interface, a visual notification corresponding to an alert notification that the playback device 210 is playing back. For instance, responsive to receiving a request to play back an alert notification (e.g., responsive to receiving alert message 300) or responsive to playing back the alert notification, the playback device 210 can send an instruction to the control device 230 that causes the control device to display an indication that the playback device 210 is playing back the alert notification.

FIG. 5 depicts the control device 230 displaying an example indication of the playback device 210 playing back an alert notification. The control device 230 includes a user interface 533, which may be the same or equivalent to the user interface 133 described above in connection with FIG. 1H. The control device 230 displays, via the user interface 133 an indication 533 a that the playback device 210 is playing back an alert notification. The control device 230 displays the indication 533 a responsive to receiving an instruction from the playback device 210 to display the indication 533 a.

The indication 533 a includes information 533 b about the alert notification that the playback device 210 is playing back. The information 533 b can include an identification of the network-enabled device that generated the alert, a description of the conditions that prompted the alert, or various other information that can help the user identify the source of the alert. This information may be populated from parameters in the alert message 300, which the playback device may include in the instruction(s) to the control device to display the indication that the playback device 210 is playing back the alert notification.

As shown in FIG. 5, the information 533 b identifies the network-enabled device that generated the alert as a “Smart Oven” and describes the conditions of the alert as “Oven is preheated to 450° F.” The playback device 210 can provide the information 533 b to the control device 230 as part of the instruction to display the indication 533 a, and the playback device 210 can obtain the information 533 b from the network-enabled device 240, for instance, by extracting the information 533 b from the alert message 300.

The indication 533 a further includes a dismiss button 533 c and a snooze button 533 d. When a user activates the dismiss button 533 c, the control device 230 sends a dismiss instruction to the playback device 210. Responsive to receiving the dismiss instruction, the playback device 210 stops playing back the alert notification and removes the alert notification from the notification queue 400. When a user activates the snooze button 533 d, the control device 230 sends a snooze instruction to the playback device 210. Then, responsive to receiving the snooze instruction, the playback device 210 stops playing back the alert notification and places the alert notification back into the notification queue 400, for instance, according to one or more of the processes described above in connection with FIGS. 4A-4D. In order to avoid rapidly replaying the snoozed alert notification, such as when the notification queue 400 is empty or nearly empty, the playback device 210 can delay replaying the snoozed alert notification for a threshold amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes).

In some examples, the control device 230 sends the dismiss instruction to the network-enabled device 240, and the network-enabled device 240 responsively sends the dismiss instruction to the playback device 210. In some examples, the control device 230 and the playback device 210 are connected to the same LAN, and the control device 230 sends the dismiss instruction to the playback device 210 over the LAN. In some examples, the control device 230 sends the dismiss instruction to a server device, which then routes the dismiss instruction to the playback device 210. For instance, the control device 230 may send the dismiss instruction to a third-party server, the third-party server may send the dismiss instruction to the network-enabled device 240, and the network-enabled device 240 may send the dismiss instruction to the playback device 210. As another example, the control device 230 may send the dismiss instruction to a first-party server, and the first-party server may send the dismiss instruction to the playback device 210. In examples where the dismiss instruction is not sent to the network-enabled device 240, the control device or the playback device 210 may send a message to the network-enabled device 240 indicating that the alert notification has been dismissed.

In some examples, the playback device 210 is configured to display the indication 533 a on a “now playing” screen of the user interface 133. The now playing screen can include various information related to media content that the playback device 210 is currently playing back, such as media content art (e.g., album art, lyrics, videos), a playback status indicator (e.g., an elapsed and/or remaining time indicator), media content information, a playback control icons, and a zone indicator, as shown and described in connection with FIG. 1H. In this manner, the user can dismiss or snooze playback of an alert notification by interacting with the indication 533 a through the now playing screen.

In some examples, the network-enabled device 240 causes the control device 230 to display the indication 533 a. For instance, in addition to sending the alert message 300 to the playback device 210, the network-enabled device 240 may send a message to the control device 230 instructing the control device 230 to display the indication 533 a. Alternatively, the network-enabled device 240 may send a message (e.g., included in or separate from the alert message 300) to the playback device 210 instructing the playback device 210 to cause the control device 230 to display the indication 533 a.

In some examples, the playback device 210 provides reports to the network-enabled devices 240 whenever the playback device 210 performs certain actions related to an alert notification. For instance, the playback device 210 can send reports to the network-enabled device 240 (or to the third-party server) indicating that the playback device 210 has queued an alert notification for playback, is currently playing back an alert notification, has dismissed an alert notification (e.g., in response to user input), has interrupted an alert notification in order to play back another alert notification, has removed an expired alert notification from the queue, or has stopped playing back an alert notification based on playing back the alert notification for a threshold amount of time. For a given notification, the playback device 210 can provide these reports only to the network-enabled devices 240 associated with notification, or the playback device 210 can provide these reports to multiple ones or all of the network-enabled devices 240 that are networked with the playback device 210.

FIG. 6 shows an example method 600 for a playback device outputting alert notifications from network-enabled devices. Method 600 can be implemented by any of the playback devices disclosed and/or described herein, or any other playback device now known or later developed.

Various embodiments of method 600 include one or more operations, functions, and actions illustrated by blocks 602 through 610. Although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different order than the order disclosed and described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon a desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 600 and for other processes and methods disclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of one possible implementation of some embodiments. In this regard, each block may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code, which includes one or more instructions executable by one or more processors for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. The program code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, for example, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. The computer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readable media, for example, such as tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media that stores data for short periods of time like register memory, processor cache, and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computer readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storage systems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computer readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. In addition, for the method 600 and for other processes and methods disclosed herein, each block in FIG. 6 may represent circuitry that is wired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.

Method 600 begins at block 602, which involves the playback device playing back audio content via an audio stage and one or more speaker drivers of the playback device. As described above, playing back audio content may involve playing back alert notifications from a notification queue, or may involve playing back audio content that excludes alert notifications, such as music, television audio, audiobooks, or the like.

At block 604, method 600 involves, while playing back the audio content, the playback device receiving, via a network interface of the playback device, an alert communication from a network-enabled device, the alert communication comprising (i) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (ii) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification. As described above, receiving the alert communication may involve receiving alert message according to an API of the playback device. Additionally, the audio notification identifier may identify a default audio notification supported by the playback device, or the audio notification identifier may identify a custom audio notification. The audio for the default audio notification may be stored in the memory of playback device.

At block 606, method 600 involves, responsive to receiving the alert communication, the playback device adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, wherein the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue. As described above, the playback device adds high priority notifications ahead of low priority notifications in the notification queue.

At block 608, method 600 involves the playback device adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification. As described above, adjusting playback of the audio content may involve stopping playback of the audio content or ducking the audio content.

At block 610, method 600 involves the playback device playing back the audio notification. In examples where adjusting playback of the audio content involves ducking the audio content, playing back the audio notification involves playing back the audio notification concurrently with the ducked audio content. In examples where adjusting playback of the audio content involves stopping playback of the audio content, the method 600 may further involve, after playing back the audio notification, resuming playback of the audio content

Within examples, the audio notification is a first audio notification, the notification queue includes a second audio notification, and adding the audio notification to the notification queue involves adding the first audio notification to the notification queue ahead of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being a higher priority than a priority level of the second audio notification.

In some examples, the audio notification is a first audio notification, the audio content includes a second audio notification, the priority level of the first audio notification is higher than a priority level of the second audio notification, and stopping playback of the audio content involves stopping playback of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being higher than the priority level of the second audio notification.

In further examples, the audio notification is a first audio notification, the audio content includes a second audio notification, and adjusting playback of the audio content involves (i) determining, based on the particular queue position of the first audio notification, that the first audio notification is ready for playback, (ii) determining that the playback device has been playing back the second audio notification for a threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification, and (iii) based on both the first audio notification being ready for playback and the playback device having played back the second audio notification for the threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification, stopping playback of the second audio notification and starting the playback of the first audio notification.

In some examples, the audio notification is a first audio notification, the notification queue includes a second audio notification, and the method 600 further involves (i) the playback device determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for a threshold amount of time corresponding to an expired audio notification and (ii) responsive to determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for the threshold amount of time corresponding to the expired audio notification, the playback device removing the second audio notification from the notification queue.

Within examples, the method 600 further involves the playback device sending, via the network interface to a mobile device having a graphical user interface, an instruction that causes the mobile device to display, via the graphical user interface, an indication that the playback device is playing back the audio notification. In such examples, the method 600 may further involve (i) the playback device receiving, via the network interface from the mobile device, an instruction to dismiss the audio notification and (ii) in response to receiving the instruction to dismiss the audio notification, the playback device stopping playback of the audio notification and resuming playback of the audio content.

While the method 600 is described with respect to a playback device receiving an alert communication while playing back other audio content, the systems and methods disclosed herein are not limited to such a scenario. For instance, a playback device can receive an alert communication when the playback device is not playing back other audio content, and, in such a scenario, the playback device can execute some or all of the processes described above in order to output an audio notification based on the alert communication.

IV. Conclusion

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices, playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide only some examples of operating environments within which functions and methods described below may be implemented. Other operating environments and configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, and network devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicable and suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

(Feature 1) A method to be performed by a playback device comprising: a network interface; an audio stage comprising an amplifier; one or more speaker drivers; one or more processors; and a housing carrying at least the network interface, the audio stage, the one or more speaker drivers, the one or more processors, and tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the playback device to perform the method. The method comprising: while playing back audio content via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers, receiving, via the network interface, an alert communication from a network-enabled device connected to the playback device via a local area network, the alert communication comprising (i) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (ii) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification; responsive to receiving the alert communication, adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, wherein the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue; adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification; and playing back the audio notification via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers.

(Feature 2) The method of feature 1, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adding the audio notification to the notification queue comprises adding the first audio notification to the notification queue ahead of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being a higher priority than a priority level of the second audio notification.

(Feature 3) The method of feature 1, wherein the audio content excludes audio notifications, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises ducking the audio content, and wherein playing back the audio notification comprises playing back the audio notification concurrently with the ducked audio content.

(Feature 4) The method of feature 1, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises stopping playback of the audio content, and wherein the method further comprises: after playing back the audio notification, resuming playback of the audio content.

(Feature 5) The method of feature 4, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, wherein the priority level of the first audio notification is higher than a priority level of the second audio notification, and wherein stopping playback of the audio content comprises stopping playback of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being higher than the priority level of the second audio notification.

(Feature 6) The method of feature 1, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises: determining, based on the particular queue position of the first audio notification, that the first audio notification is ready for playback; determining that the playback device has been playing back the second audio notification for a threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification; and based on both (i) the first audio notification being ready for playback and (ii) the playback device having played back the second audio notification for the threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification, stopping playback of the second audio notification and starting the playback of the first audio notification.

(Feature 7) The method of feature 1, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein the method further comprises: determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for a threshold amount of time corresponding to an expired audio notification; and responsive to determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for the threshold amount of time corresponding to the expired audio notification, removing the second audio notification from the notification queue.

(Feature 8) The method of feature 1, further comprising: sending, via the network interface to a mobile device having a graphical user interface, an instruction that causes the mobile device to display, via the graphical user interface, an indication that the playback device is playing back the audio notification.

(Feature 9) The method of feature 1, further comprising: receiving, via the network interface from a mobile device, an instruction to dismiss the audio notification; and in response to receiving the instruction to dismiss the audio notification, stopping playback of the audio notification and resuming playback of the audio content.

(Feature 10) A playback device configured to perform the method of any of features 1-9.

(Feature 11) Tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors of a playback device to cause the playback device to perform the method of any of features 1-9.

(Feature 12) A system configured to perform the method of any of features 1-9.

The description above discloses, among other things, various example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware. It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or components can be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the only ways) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of an invention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined with other embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrative environments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These process descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it is understood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at least one example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible, non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the software and/or firmware. 

1. A playback device comprising: a network interface; an audio stage comprising an amplifier; one or more speaker drivers; one or more processors; and a housing, the housing carrying at least the network interface, the audio stage, the one or more speaker drivers, the one or more processors, and tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the playback device to perform operations comprising: receiving audio content; playing back the audio content via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers synchronously with one or more additional playback devices connected to the playback device via a local area network; while playing back the audio content, receiving, via the network interface, an alert communication from a network-enabled device connected to the playback device via the local area network, the alert communication comprising (i) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (ii) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification; responsive to receiving the alert communication, adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, wherein the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue; adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification; and playing back the audio notification via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers synchronously with the one or more additional playback devices.
 2. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adding the audio notification to the notification queue comprises adding the first audio notification to the notification queue ahead of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being a higher priority than a priority level of the second audio notification.
 3. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the audio content excludes audio notifications, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises ducking the audio content, and wherein playing back the audio notification comprises playing back the audio notification concurrently with the ducked audio content.
 4. The playback device of claim 1, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises stopping playback of the audio content, and wherein the operations further comprise: after playing back the audio notification, resuming playback of the audio content.
 5. The playback device of claim 4, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, wherein the priority level of the first audio notification is higher than a priority level of the second audio notification, and wherein stopping playback of the audio content comprises stopping playback of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being higher than the priority level of the second audio notification.
 6. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises: determining, based on the particular queue position of the first audio notification, that the first audio notification is ready for playback; determining that the playback device has been playing back the second audio notification for a threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification; and based on both (i) the first audio notification being ready for playback and (ii) the playback device having played back the second audio notification for the threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification, stopping playback of the second audio notification and starting the playback of the first audio notification.
 7. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein the operations further comprise: determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for a threshold amount of time corresponding to an expired audio notification; and responsive to determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for the threshold amount of time corresponding to the expired audio notification, removing the second audio notification from the notification queue.
 8. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: sending, via the network interface to a mobile device having a graphical user interface, an instruction that causes the mobile device to display, via the graphical user interface, an indication that the playback device is playing back the audio notification.
 9. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, via the network interface from a mobile device, an instruction to dismiss the audio notification; and in response to receiving the instruction to dismiss the audio notification, stopping playback of the audio notification and resuming playback of the audio content.
 10. Tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors of a playback device to cause the playback device to perform operations comprising: receiving audio content; playing back the audio content via an audio stage and one or more speaker drivers of the playback device synchronously with one or more additional playback devices connected to the playback device via a local area network; while playing back the audio content, receiving, via a network interface of the playback device, an alert communication from a network-enabled device connected to the playback device via the local area network, the alert communication comprising (i) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (ii) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification; responsive to receiving the alert communication, adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, wherein the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue; adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification; and playing back the audio notification via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers synchronously with the one or more additional playback devices.
 11. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adding the audio notification to the notification queue comprises adding the first audio notification to the notification queue ahead of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being a higher priority than a priority level of the second audio notification.
 12. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the audio content excludes audio notifications, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises ducking the audio content, and wherein playing back the audio notification comprises playing back the audio notification concurrently with the ducked audio content.
 13. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, wherein the priority level of the first audio notification is higher than a priority level of the second audio notification, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises stopping playback of the audio content based on the priority level of the first audio notification being higher than the priority level of the second audio notification, and wherein the operations further comprise: after playing back the first audio notification, resuming playback of the audio content.
 14. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises: determining, based on the particular queue position of the first audio notification, that the first audio notification is ready for playback; determining that the playback device has been playing back the second audio notification for a threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification; and based on both (i) the first audio notification being ready for playback and (ii) the playback device having played back the second audio notification for the threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification, stopping playback of the second audio notification and starting the playback of the first audio notification.
 15. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein the operations further comprise: determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for a threshold amount of time corresponding to an expired audio notification; and responsive to determining that the second audio notification has been in the notification queue for the threshold amount of time corresponding to the expired audio notification, removing the second audio notification from the notification queue.
 16. A method comprising: receiving, by a playback device, audio content; playing back the audio content via an audio stage and one or more speaker drivers of the playback device synchronously with one or more additional playback devices connected to the playback device via a local area network; while playing back the audio content, receiving, via a network interface of the playback device, an alert communication from a network-enabled device connected to the playback device via the local area network, the alert communication comprising (i) an audio notification identifier that identifies an audio notification and (ii) a priority identifier that identifies a priority level of the audio notification; responsive to receiving the alert communication, adding the audio notification to a notification queue at a particular queue position, wherein the particular queue position of the audio notification in the notification queue is based on the priority level of the audio notification relative to other audio content in the notification queue; adjusting playback of the audio content for playing back the audio notification; and playing back the audio notification via the audio stage and the one or more speaker drivers synchronously with the one or more additional playback devices.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the notification queue comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adding the audio notification to the notification queue comprises adding the first audio notification to the notification queue ahead of the second audio notification based on the priority level of the first audio notification being a higher priority than a priority level of the second audio notification.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the audio content excludes audio notifications, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises ducking the audio content, and wherein playing back the audio notification comprises playing back the audio notification concurrently with the ducked audio content.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, wherein the priority level of the first audio notification is higher than a priority level of the second audio notification, wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises stopping playback of the audio content based on the priority level of the first audio notification being higher than the priority level of the second audio notification, and wherein the method further comprises: after playing back the first audio notification, resuming playback of the audio content.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the audio notification is a first audio notification, wherein the audio content comprises a second audio notification, and wherein adjusting playback of the audio content comprises: determining, based on the particular queue position of the first audio notification, that the first audio notification is ready for playback; determining that the playback device has been playing back the second audio notification for a threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification; and based on both (i) the first audio notification being ready for playback and (ii) the playback device having played back the second audio notification for the threshold amount of time corresponding to a partially-played back notification, stopping playback of the second audio notification and starting the playback of the first audio notification. 